In certain conventional battery chargers it is common practice to normally supply power to an undercharged battery at an initially high rate and thereafter to subsequently reduce and taper the rate to near zero when the battery is fully charged. This type of charging is normally referred to as taper charging since the current value is continually being reduced towards zero. However, when using this type of battery charging technique, extreme care and certain precautionary measures should be taken in order to obtain maximum efficiency and long battery life. For example, when a fully charged battery has not been used for a period of time, it is necessary to provide an "overcharge" or "equalizing charge" in order to enable the battery to meet subsequent load demands. It is good preventative maintenance practice to overcharge a dormant or seldom used battery at least once a month. The overcharge is given to keep the battery in good condition, and to prevent the development of inequalities in condition of the individual cells. Thus, the utilization of taper type of battery charging equipment entails additional cost and time in maintaining full capacity by requiring the battery to be periodically "overcharged" in order to meet full capacity demands. There have been various attempts to alleviate the shortcomings of previous types of battery chargers; however, these former endeavors have fallen short of expectation. In order to provide a highly stable and efficient battery charger, it is necessary to eliminate excessive electrical power losses, to obviate undue and repeated adjustments and to avoid the need of periodic "equalizing" charging.
Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved cycling type of an electronically controlled battery charger.
A further object of this invention is to provide a novel battery charging circuit for constantly "working" a rechargeable battery by vacillating the voltage applied to the battery.
Another object of my invention is to provide a unique electronically controlled two-rate battery charging circuit for cycle charging a battery.
Yet a further object of my invention is to provide an improved battery charger employing controllable series connected semiconductive device for alternately applying a high rate of charge and a low rate of charge on a rechargeable battery.
Still another object of my invention is to provide a new automatic battery charging circuit arrangement employing a series regulator for cycling the voltage applied to a battery.
Still a further object of my invention is to provide a novel automatic constant current electronic battery charger employing a reactive transformer, a bridge rectifier, a voltage regulator and a sensor and control circuit for varying the voltage level supplied to a rechargeable battery.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a novel and unique battery charging circuit which causes a rechargeable battery to be continually "working" so that little, if any, sulphation occurs and periodic "equalizing" is unnecessary.
An additional object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved constant current two-rate electronic battery charger which is economical in cost, simple in design, reliable in operation, durable in use and efficient in service.